Opening Films

by Inlander Staff & r & & r & The Lake House -- An interesting idea gets turned into a mess of a movie, running out of steam a third of the way in, then plodding on to a sentimental ending. Too bad, because the story of Kate (Sandra Bullock) and Alex (Keanu Reeves), sharing a long distance and very romantic letter-writing relationship -- even though he's in 2004 and she's in 2006 -- should have been Twilight Zone-intriguing, But despite good acting, the film is pedestrian and repetitive, and nothing is ever made -- or explained -- of its quirkiness. (ES) Rated PG





An Inconvenient Truth -- A documentary that sounds dire warnings about global warming -- Shanghai and most of Florida submerged, Katrina dwarfed by 100 million refugees worldwide -- interwoven with snippets from Al Gore's longtime pro-environment advocacy. Rated PG





The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift -- They somehow found a place to race in Tokyo, which sets the fantasy pitch of the third entry in this series high. Apparently they race sans control over there, letting their cars drift freely around corners and into one another. Helped by a nonentity cast, Tokyo Drift has the makings of this summer's noisiest fizzle. Rated PG-13





Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties -- America's most recognizable intellectual property is back, and this time -- as Garfield plays out The Prince and the Pauper -- it's an insult to Mark Twain, Charles Dickens and our intelligence. Let's face facts: An innocuous cat built to be a marketing empire is never going to make good film. Ever. Rated PG





Nacho Libre -- Jack Black + the director of Napoleon Dynamite + Mexican wrestling = absurdist comedy gold? That's the formula Paramount is banking on. Black plays Nacho, a backwater nobody who sees the fame and prestige heaped on the Luchadors and wants a piece. Semi-pro wrestling is the result. Rated PG